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So here are three questions which discuss why changing a question once you've asked it is wrong:

The most common reason seems to be that existing answers are invalidated. However, I have the situation where a question I asked (edit: I've now deleted it) has no answers yet, and the comments suggest that only some of it may be answerable.

Given that I've had no answers yet, is it reasonable for me to change the title and content of a question to a more specific and concrete subquestion of the original question, which can then be properly answered?

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    $\begingroup$ While your question has no answers, it does have some comments. If your change would confuse folks reading these comments, then please mention the changes in the question, and consider adding a comment mentioning that the comments prior to it apply to the earlier version of the question. $\endgroup$
    – Bill Dubuque
    May 17 '12 at 13:41
  • $\begingroup$ Every time I made a edit to the substance of the question, I've commented on it too. $\endgroup$
    – Ben Millwood
    May 17 '12 at 13:44
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    $\begingroup$ That's good. The point of mentioning changes in the question is that it prepares the reader for the confusion that may occur as soon as they start reading the comments (in chronological order), something that cannot be achieved by posting a later comment. $\endgroup$
    – Bill Dubuque
    May 17 '12 at 13:52
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    $\begingroup$ Even if the question has no answer yet that you can see, there's no knowing whether someone has spent the last half hour typing a detailed answer to the question as it currently stands, and is just about to submit it. $\endgroup$
    – hmakholm left over Monica
    Jun 1 '12 at 20:04
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    $\begingroup$ Weeeelll, when a few days pass, you can probably make some educated guesses :) anyway I decided it was a bad question so I deleted it $\endgroup$
    – Ben Millwood
    Jun 1 '12 at 20:06
  • $\begingroup$ I would stick an "EDIT:" at the bottom outlining what the comments are saying and what my revised question is. I think this is common practice on MO, but I may be mistaken. $\endgroup$
    – user1729
    Sep 18 '12 at 10:57

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